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National tour event proves difficult for local bowlers By Tim Trower The warning signs were out there for the locals who entered the Medford Open: Don't plan on shooting the high numbers you're used to in league bowling. Accomplished bowlers, they really didn't need the caution flags. They know more about bowling than the rest of us and were well aware of the pitfalls. That still doesn't ease the sting, however. Jason McCleary and Steve Mead are Professional Bowlers Association members who live in the Rogue Valley, and they joined local amateurs Ed Lee, Allan Reyes and Klamath Falls' Jason Taylor in the field. The PBA allocates a handful of entries to the host center to distribute as it sees fit. They went to Lee, Reyes and Taylor. Two other PBA members, Kevin Croucher, who owns Caveman Bowl in Grants Pass, and Greg Newtson, a former touring pro who now lives in Klamath Falls, also joined the fray. Taylor and Newtson were the only two to advance. Croucher, Mead and McCleary - who average in the 220 range under normal conditions - occupied the bottom three spots when the morning session had run its course of nine games. Croucher had a 177.11 average, Mead a 176.33 and McCleary a 175.78. In the evening session, the averages were 213.33 for Taylor, who is in 22nd place, and 209.67 for Newtson, who is in 30th. Reyes had a 192 average and Lee a 182.89. Though it would seem a familiar house would be advantageous, this was not their home. It was like stumbling into the wrong front door and tripping over furniture. The oil conditions they met up with were unrelenting. The national tour members they were up against are icons and see these conditions week in and week out. "I bowled very, very poorly," lamented McCleary, who hasn't competed in recent months but will do so again next week when the PBA goes to Reno, Nev., for the ABC Masters. "There are no excuses." Well, there are, but he didn't want to use them as such. "The conditions are very challenging, obviously," said McCleary, "but they are playable if you execute. Today, I never had a very good ball. My release point was all over the place. I was not consistent, and you can't be competitive doing that." Mead actually liked the lane conditions. But the crowd he was running with on this day was overwhelming. "I've bowled in a lot of big things in my life and always handled the pressure well," he said. "Today, I simply didn't. These guys, I don't know, there's an aura out here that I would have to get used to before I could just walk in the door and start throwing really good shots." Though he improved as the block wore on, Mead likened it to the major leagues and graded himself out to be a .100 hitter. Does he regret it? "Not for a second," he said. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat." LEONA MENDOZA MAY have had the most remarkable performance of the six adult pro-am squads that were held Tuesday and Wednesday. The 78-year-old megafan rolled a 272 game in the evening session Wednesday and defeated her pro, Mike Machuga, by 36 pins. In the pro-am format, everyone, including pros, was awarded strikes in the third, sixth and ninth frames. In her second game, Mendoza went out and threw six of her own. She was perfect heading into the 10th, when she left three pins, picked up her spare, then got nine on her last ball. "I surprised myself," said Mendoza, who came up from San Leandro, Calif., for the tournament. She also surprised Machuga. "He asked me what am I doing," she said, "and I said, 'I don't know myself.'" Mendoza's entry was a gift from her daughter, Julie Roden, who won a Chamber of Commerce raffle. "She called me up all excited and said, 'I won you a spot to bowl with the pros!'" said Mendoza. "I said, 'Bowl with the pros! I can't bowl with the pros!' ... But we did pretty good." Mendoza carries a 154 league average back home, where she bowls once a week. "She raised six kids," said Roden, "but once a week she got out of the house to bowl." Mendoza didn't beat her other two pros, rolling a 161 against George Branham III and a 177 against Dave Arnold. "By that time I was getting tired," she admitted. "But we were having fun. It was a big thrill." RANDY PEDERSEN, THE analyst on ESPN's coverage of the PBA, got off to a fast start, easily making the first cut with a 216.11 average. Were he to continue bowling well enough to make the TV finals, a replacement for the booth would need to be found. Veteran Brian Voss is next in line to be the analyst. Marshall Holman of Medford, a former analyst himself, would likely be considered if Voss were unavailable. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.